Bhubaneswar, June 29: Don't miss out on international athletes competing in the Asian Athletics Championship and enjoying the fan experience if you can't spare a day at the stadium. The city administration has come up with a solution - LED screens.
The state government is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the upcoming athletics meet is a grand success and has decided to install large LED screens at prominent places in the state capital for public viewing of the events.
Sources said big screens would be installed at three places - Saheed Nagar, Unit-I and outside Kalinga Stadium. "We are in the process of identifying the exact locations for installation of the screens. These areas are most crowded and we intend to have the screens at strategic locations," said a sports department official.
Besides, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation is co-ordinating the branding of the event with Olly, the mascot for the meet, visiting various parts of the city to create awareness about the event. Today, the vehicle carrying mascot Olly visited the secretariat, Capital High School, Rama Devi Women's University and BJB Autonomous College.
"The mascot met chief minister Naveen Patnaik at the secretariat today. It then continued its journey and visited different parts of the city. The public seems to be taking a lot interest in the style of this citizen-connect programme. We are optimistic that the championship will be hosted in grand fashion," said mayor Ananta Narayan Jena.
Moreover, the civic body has also undertaken a rigorous food tasting drive at various food chains in the city that foreign athletes could visit. In the process, the officials have checked food items at Pizza Hut, Domino's Pizza, Chilika Dhaba and Sarala Sweets. Officials said the food tasting drive would continue tomorrow as well.
In order to ensure cleanliness in and around Kalinga Stadium, the venue for the championship, the civic body has installed about 100 small and large waste bins. They have also decided to put up about 150 sanitary staff members on their toes to ensure 24x7 sweeping and cleaning of the surroundings.
"This city is being transformed for the event. Thankfully, it has got the chance to prove itself in the international level. I am satisfied with the preparation. I laud the efforts of the state government," said Niranjan Hota, a resident of Patia.
